Anthony Caro on John Hoyland: 'He was every inch a painter'

Detail from John Hoyland's One Life. Photograph: John Hoyland/Lemon Street Gallery

Anthony Caro writes: John Hoyland (obituary, 2 August) was every inch a painter. He invested colour, paint and its application with generosity and richness. The paintings stand for nothing but themselves. From his early linear works, through to the great slab pictures of the 1960s to his very latest sun – or moon – burst paintings, his art has warmth and authority. He was highly respected as an artist and his art remains the yardstick by which English painters can measure themselves and their work.

His conviviality, his sense of humour and his down-to-earth response to the world masked a depth of human feeling. He had real sensitivity to other people's feelings. He was quite without guile. His loyalty was exceptional. Although I knew him before, I discovered the real John in 1969 when we travelled together to South America as the two representative British artists in the São Paulo Biennale. In his dealings with others, his decency and his integrity shone through. We became fast friends and remained so to the end.

John's students relished his unconventional approach. People enjoyed his company, his bubbling sense of humour. He liked good food and drink and a good joke. But beneath it all lay a seriousness about the importance of art.